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The Chancellor

Since the death of General De Gaulle, the Chancellor is the most important figurehead of the Order of the Liberation.

The Chancellor is the guarantor of the correct operation of the institution and the discipline of the Order he manages. He is 16th on the hierarchical ladder of statesmen according to protocol.

The Chancellor of the Order of the Liberation participates in many commemorative (inaugurations) and specialized events (symposiums and conferences), and presides over the ceremonies of the Appeal of June 18th, 1940, every year at Mont Valérien in Suresnes, where he greets the President of the French Republic at the entrance to the Crypt of the Combative France Memorial.

The Chancellor is a Companion of the Liberation, who is chosen from within the Council of the Order by the Council itself, and is subject to approval by the President of the Republic. The nomination is then made official by a decree.

The Chancellor is nominated for a four-year term that can be renewed (granted by the decree of 13 April 1962), and also oversees the Museum of the Order of the Liberation, and the activities involving the Resistance Medal.

Between 1941 and the present there have been seven Chancellors :

• Admiral Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu (1941-1958)
• General François Ingold (1958-1962)
• Claude Hettier de Boislambert (1962-1978)
• Army General Jean Simon, (1978-2002)
• Army General Alain de Boissieu (2002-2006)
• Pierre Messmer (2006-2007)
• François Jacob (since 2007)

 

Last updated: October 15th, 2007
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